Sadly, this third international release from the godfather of Nubian soul, Ali Hassan Kuban, will be his last. Kuban died in June of last year, having spent his life singing and playing his particular brand of raw, earthy, energetic music. Fortunately, "Real Nubian" catches Kuban at the height of his powers.
Born in 1929 along the Nile in what is now the south of Egypt, Kuban, like many Nubians, went to Cairo to earn a living. After the Aswan Dam flooded their homeland, an entire community was displaced to the city. With so many refugees together, the Nubian people's language and southern culture could flourish alongside Arabic and the customs of the north. Cairo was also a crossroads for musical influences, melding the African rhythms from the south with the lyrical melodies of the Middle East, and providing a cosmopolitan culture internationalized by imports from Europe and the United States.
The songs on "Real Nubian" reflect all these influences, but center on traditional wedding songs sung in praise of love at lavish ceremonies. The occasional patriotic hymn to the lost Nubian homeland is hidden among the universal themes of human longing and desire.
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